Faith Matters: The values we take for granted are the foundation of our unique American way of life

By Rabbi Hesch Sommer

Published 11:16 am, Friday, December 9, 2016

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Faith Matters: The values we take for granted are the foundation of our unique American way of life

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I recently returned from a trip to Iceland. It is a beautiful country and I was very moved by the relationship between the people and the environment which so much shapes their identity. Many of us may remember the volcanic eruption in 2010, as it had a profound impact not only on Icelanders but also on the global community, stopping air traffic for many days and reminding us all of the fragile balance which living creatures have with the natural world.

Today, Eyjafjallajokull is considered a dormant volcano, but the story of the family whose home and farm existed and continues to thrive at its base personifies an important lesson to us about the fragile nature of our existence. They made a choice to live a lifestyle which has brought three generations an intimate relationship with a land and a nation that they love, ever aware of the potential challenges to the freedom it offers.

Our trip took place just a few days after our national elections. And so for me, the challenge of the family living at Eyjafjallajokull’s base served as a metaphor for the fragile balance of what it means to live in a free and democratic society. We live with an awareness that democracy is a fragile reality and that there is always the potential eruption which can change our daily landscape.

When the Icelandic eruption began, it spewed coarse volcanic ash. This was startling and alarming in its newness, but it was almost weightless and could be easily removed, more an annoyance than a real threat. But following the coarse ash, the volcano sent up a cloud of finer ash which settled over everything and, when it mixed with rain, it left a life-altering film which took tremendous effort to dig out from under.

The family, their home and farm, faced real danger about their future wellbeing. It was clear to them and to their neighbors that they could only truly survive if they reached out to help one another. They came together as a community. From all over the country, people stepped up to help those who were most inundated. They knew that there was something precious that they needed to save. Their work and determination helped to restore people’s homes and livelihoods. The cherished wellness of the homeland and their unique way of life had been altered, but through their hard work and commitment to that which they held sacred it was eventually restored. The family and their farm, like so much of Iceland which had been devastated, had through hard work and persistence survived the peril which had almost suffocated it.

To live in a free society means to always know that we live at the base of the volcano. The values which we all too often take for granted are the foundation of our unique American way of life. But there are disruptive forces always eager to spew their fine ash in the hopes of transforming the landscape we cherish. When we lose sight of the struggles of others, when we become numb to their plight because it does not have an immediate impact on our daily existence, we lose sight of the fragile nature of our democracy which is the cornerstone that makes us the United States of America. We need to be careful not to let the post-election fine ash transform our landscape, making it unrecognizable, distorted and suffocating. Now, more than ever, we need to involve ourselves in speaking and acting for the wellbeing of those within our communities and beyond.